TRAM: COIN OF CILICIAN ARMENIA
Tram, 1198-1219: Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
ND (no date).
Ruler: Leo II also known as Levon I the Magnificent (Armenian "Լեւոն Ա Մեծագործ"; romanized "Levon I Metsagorts") — the 10th lord of Armenian Cilicia (1198-1219). He was the 1st Armenian ruler to be crowned as king: in 1198, in the city of Tarsus, he was crowned and proclaimed king jointly by the German and Byzantine empires.
ԿԱՐՈՂՈՒԹԲՆ ԱՍՏՈԻԾՈՅ: By the Will of God.
Catholicos cross (patriarchal) between two heraldic lions.
ԼԵԻՈՆ ԹԱԳԱԻՈՐ ՀԱՅՈՑ: Levon (Leo) king of the Armenians.
King on throne with lions holding mace with cross and fleur-de-lis (by the way, the reign of Levon II coincided with the third crusade; it was attended by four of the most powerful European monarchs — the German emperor, the French and English kings, the Austrian duke).
- Silver: 23 mm - 3.06 g
- Reference price: 37$
COIN TRAM — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- ARMENIAN KINGDOM OF CILICIA (11th-14th centuries): tram = 40 pogh = 10 kardez = 5 tank
TRAM as coin name.
Tram — main silver coin of Cilician Armenia during the 11th-14th centuries. It was used before the introduction of takvorin.
The role of smaller coins was simultaneously performed by copper Cilician coins — pogh (11th-14th centuries: 1/40 tram) and tank (12th-13th centuries: 1/5 tram) or kardez (13th-14th centuries: 1/10 tram).
Armenian trams of the period between 1198 and 1299 are most often found. These are the years of the reign of Levon II, Hethum II, Smbat, Kostandin II, Levon III...
The denominations of 1/2, 1 and 2 trams are known. The weight of a silver coin with a denomination of 1 tram did not even reach three grams.
The main plot: the king on a throne or on a horse and an image of a lion with a cross (or two lions). The legend contained the title of the ruler: "King of all Armenians".
The name of the tram coin is undoubtedly related to the name of the modern currency of Armenia — the dram (how and why the transformation of "tram" into "dram" took place is unknown).
The term is translated from Armenian as "money" and comes from the Greek "drachm" (Greek "δραχμή").
